


The Bowery Beauties

by vivaciousirish



Series: Girlsies Week 2018 [3]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Breakup, Canon Era, F/F, Getting Together, a bit of internalized homophobia, mention of violence/abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 19:32:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14362116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivaciousirish/pseuds/vivaciousirish
Summary: Lilly hates it when Emma doesn't show up for work.





	The Bowery Beauties

**Author's Note:**

> Part Three, hope you enjoy! Still open to all feedback, and you can as always hit me up on any social media for more quality (ish) theatre content.

The hot lights beat down on Lilly as she sashays across the stage. The usually familiar theatre feels foreign without her other half, and she’s relieved when her number finishes and she can collapse into an armchair in Medda’s dressing room.

“I’m never working without Emma again,” she announces, annoyed. Medda looks up from counting the day’s profits and laughs.

“Tell that to Emma, baby, not me.”

Lilly sighs. Emma’s probably off with one of her boyfriends, not even remembering that Lilly hates performing alone. It’s unfair, she thinks, since Lilly remembers everything about Emma. Like if she were here, she’d be criticizing the tea Lilly’s making, because she takes hers black and Emma likes cream and sugar. She’d be laughing and her eyes would sparkle and-

Lilly shakes her head as if to banish the thought. Emma doesn’t like girls, she reminds herself, and neither should you.

“Lill, I’m gonna walk the money down to the bank before closing. Need anything?”

She sighs. “No thanks.”

Medda rubs her shoulder comfortingly as she leaves the room, her skirt swishing. Lilly closes her eyes, enjoying the brief quiet-

Which doesn’t last long.

The door crashes open and Lilly is shocked out of her thoughts. Emma is stalking through the doorway, a bruise blossoming on her left cheek. Lilly leaps to her feet.

“Emma, what-”

“Shut up, Lilly.” Emma’s voice is curt as she takes a washcloth from one of Medda’s drawers and starts to wash her face.

“I can’t-who-”

“Morris.” She slams the door shut and flings the washcloth down. “You don’t have to tell me, Lill. I’m not going to see him anymore.”

Contrary to what Emma thinks, Lilly doesn’t know what to say. She stares at the ground as Emma mutters under her breath. She feels the sudden urge to track Morris Delancey down and beat him to a pulp.

“God, you’re so lucky that you don’t have to deal with this. You just like girls. Date girls.” Lilly hasn’t dated a girl since her parents caught her with Pauline. Since she moved into Medda’s and started working. Started working with Emma. And nearly fell for her overnight. “I wish I had the courage.”

Lilly’s head snaps up. “What?”

Emma sighs. “Never mind.”

“No, I-I want to know.”

“I like girls,” Emma says in her blunt way. “I think. But it’s so much easier to date boys.” Her hand flies up to her cheek. “Well, usually.”

She pauses and looks at Lilly. “Whoa, are you okay? You look like you’re going to faint.”

Lilly’s hands fly to her cheeks too, trying to cool the rapid blush spreading across her face. “No.”

“You’re not okay?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m fine. I just-” Lilly stands abruptly. “I should be heading home.”

Emma’s brow furrows. “You live here. Tell me what’s wrong, Lill. Is it what I just told you? It doesn’t have to change anything if you don’t want it to, we don’t have to talk about it.”

“Why would…” Lilly rubs her forehead. “Why would that be what’s upsetting me?”

“Because I basically just admitted that I like girls, and you’re another girl who likes girls…god, this went much better in my head earlier. Then again, I didn’t have a black eye in my head earlier, so as soon as that happened, I should’ve known tonight wasn’t going to go right.”

“Emma! Slow down. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Emma sighs and leans forward. “I broke up with Morris.”

“Yes. Since he punched you. I think that was a wise choice. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Lill, I…he punched me after I broke with him, not the other way around.”

“So you broke up with him for another reason. Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

“It’s a little more complicated than-”

Lilly cuts her off, unable to take the tension anymore, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. Emma pulls back in surprise, and for a moment, Lilly thinks she interpreted the entire situation wrong. She feels terrified until Emma races around the table and almost leaps onto Lilly, kissing her again. They separate in a few moments and Lilly can’t find words. Thankfully, Emma can.

“Well.” A smile breaks across her face. “Breaking up with Morris was definitely worth it.”


End file.
